Fabric-carried plastic article

ABSTRACT

THE INVENTION RELATES TO A NOVEL QUIVERY RESILIENT PLASTIC ARTICLE LOCKED TO A FABRIC CARRIER AND EXTENDING FOR WARD IN RELIEF BEYOND ONE SIDE OF SAID FABRIC, SAID PLASTIC COMPRISING HIGHLY PLASTICIZED POLYVINYL CHLORIDE WITH SUB-   STANTIALLY 400 PARTS PLASTICIZER TO SUBSTANTIALLY 600 PARTS PLASTICIZER FOR EACH 100 PARTS OF SAID POLYVINYL CHLORIDE.

Dec. 12, 1972 J, G. FRANQS' ETAL 3,705,836

FABRIC-CARRIED PLASTIC ARTICLE Original Filed March 22, 1967 FIG. 2

PLASf/SOL uQixmumtuk PHASE: or HIGHLY mar/c1250 Pvc JAMES 6. MANCIS ROBERT H. PASLEY, SR.

I INVENTORS. BY m M R/NES AND RIMES ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,705,836 FABRIC-CARRIED PLASTIC ARTICLE James G. Francis, Hialeah, and Robert H. Pasley, Sr., Coral Gables, Fla., assignors to Royalty Designs of Florida, Hialeah, Fla.

Continuation of application Ser. No. 625,214, Mar. 22, 1967. This application June 19, 1970, Ser. No. 64,000 Int. Cl. B32b 3/00; D06g 1/00 US. Cl. 161-94 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to a novel quivery resilient plastic article locked to a fabric carrier and extending forward in relief beyond one side of said fabric, said plastic comprising highly plasticized polyvinyl chloride with substantially 400 parts plasticizer to substantially 600 parts plasticizer for each 100 parts of said polyvinyl chloride.

This is a continuation of Ser. No. 625,214, filed Mar. 22, 1967 and now abandoned.

The present invention is concerned with techniques for attaching highly resilient plastic articles to fabrics and with the novel products so formed.

Various types of plastic articles have heretofore been applied to fabrics for decorative and other purposes by such techniques as heat-bonding, adhesive applications, molding and the like. Such techniques, however, have not lent themselves well to matching the resilient properties (such as stretch, elasticity, contraction, etc.) of the plastic article to that of the fabric, or for permitting a satisfactory match of a single plastic formulation to a wide variety of different types of fabrics of different stretch, elasticity and other characteristics. In addition, prior molding techniques have often weakened or damaged the fabric and, in general, have not permitted a flexible bonding to the fabric that enables the fabric adequately to give, relative to the plastic, upon pull or other stresses that may be applied in use to the plastic decoration or other article.

An object of the present invention, accordingly, is to provide a new and improved process for forming fabriccarried plastic articles that shall not be subject to any of the above-described disadvantages; but, to the contrary, admirably matches a wide variety of fabrics to plastic articles with a highly flexible union.

A further object is to provide a novel fabric-carried plastic article.

Other and further objects will be explained hereinafter and more fully delineated in the appended claims. In summary, however, the invention embraces a fabric-carried article comprising a fiber-formed fabric carrying at a predetermined region thereof a quivery resilient plastic member extending forward in relief beyond one side of the fabric and rearwardly coating the fibers on both sides of the fabric while locking between the fibers and extending into a substantially planar surface over said region contiguous with the opposite side of the fabric. Preferred details, compostions and processes of formation are hereinafter set forth.

The invention will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawing, FIG. 1 of which is a fragmentary isometric view, upon a magnified scale, of a novel article formed by the processes of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section illustrating preferred molding techniques; and

FIG. 3 is an explanatory flow-chart graph.

Referring to FIG. 1, a quivery resilient plastic article is shown carried upon a woven-fiber or other fiber-formed cloth fabric 3 or the like for such purposes as decorating Patented Dec. 12, 1972 the same. In accordance with the invention, the plastic of the article 1 has been plasticized'to an extraordinary degree to render it quivery, as schematically shown by the motion lines, and generally more resilient (i.e., more flexibly stretchable and compressible) than the fabric 3; and, through a highly critical manner of attachment to the fabric fibers, is adapted at least to match the stretch and other characteristics of a wide variety of fabrics ranging even to highly elastic fabrics. It will be noted that the article 1 projects or extends forward in relief (to the right) to constitute the decoration, usually of thickness very much greater than that of the fabric, as shown. The plastic article 1 extends, also, rearwardly, integrally covering and coating the fibers 3 of the fabric 3 on both sides, locking between the same, and extending into a substantially planar surface 1' covering the region of attachment of the article 1 and contiguous with the left or rear side of the fabric.

It has been discovered that a rather critical degree of control of the plasticizer within highly unconventional limits, coupled with the particular attachment construction of FIG. 1, attains the desirable results above stated, obviating the before-mentioned problems with prior-art plastic decorations and the like. As an example, and as a preferred embodiment, polyvinyl chloride plastisols may be adapted to the purposes of the present invention by radically increasing the conventional percentage of plasticizer to a range of from substantially 400 to substantially 600 parts for each parts of polyvinyl chloride.

The use of such a plastisol for the purposes of the invention is illustrated in the flow-chart of FIG. 3 in connection with the molding process illustrated in FIG. 2, wherein an open-top mold M (corresponding to the intended article 1) receives hot liquid-state plastic in the direction of the arrow. The fabric 3 covers the mold, and the fabric is caused by pressure from above, as effected by the member 5, to absorb the plastic between its fibers through to the upper side thereof, whereupon the plastic is permitted to set into the quivery resilient mass 1-1', flexibly united with the fabric 3.

It has been found necessary for optimum and highly reproducible results, to carry the room-temperature liquid plastisol (Liquid I, FIG. 3) to and through elevated temperatures in the range of from about 220 to 280 F. where it becomes gelatalous (Gel, FIG. 3), and then to carry the gel to even higher temperatures to bring the same into a different high-temperature liquid state (Liquid II, FIG. 3). At about 340 F., more or less, proper viscosity is attained to permit injection into, for example, a flexible mold M and to permit wetting of a wide variety of fabrics 3 and absorption of the plastic into and around the fabric fibers 3' through to the opposite side. Alternatively, the mold M may be of copper or the like and the member 5 may be a sponge pressed against the fabric 3 to force the plastic into the fabric. Cooling results in fusion or solidifying of the quivery resilient mass 1 at about F.

The criticality of the substantially 400 to 600 parts plasticizer range (per 100 parts polyvinyl chloride) results from the fact that if less than about 400 parts plasticizer are used, it has been found diflicult to pass the highly plasticized plastisol through the Gel stage to the necessary Liquid II stage, even with increased temperature; and if more than about 600 parts plasticizer are used, the plasticizer has been found deleteriously to migrate out of the finished product 1 as an oily substance.

It has been found that, in addition to the highly desirable fabric-matching and other characteristics attainable with the invention, repeated washing and drying of the fabric 3 carrying the plastic article 1 produces no detectable deteriorating eflects upon either, the product being extremely durable. Included in the list of fabrics found usable in accordance with the invention are cotton, wool, silk, polyester-cotton, canvas, felt, rayon, terrycloth, twill, corduroy and stretchable fabrics. A preferred plasticizer for use with Type 121 PV'C plastic, moreover, in the proportions above given, is Flexol 380. Clearly, other plastics and plasticizers of similar properties, controlled as above indicated, may also be employed.

Further modifications will also occur to those skilled in the art, and all such are considered to fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the ap pended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A fabric-carried article comprising a fiber-formed fabric carrying thereon a quivery resilient plastic member extending substantially forward beyond one side of the fabric and rearwardly coating and locking between the fibers of the fabric, said plastic comprising highly plasticized polyvinyl chloride with substantially 400 parts plasticizer to substantially 600 parts plasticizer for each 100 parts of said. polyvinyl chloride.

2. A fabric-carried article comprising a fiber-formed fabric carrying at a predetermined region thereof a quivery resilient plastic member extending forward in relief beyond one side of the fabric and rearwardly coating the fibers on both sides of the fabric while locking between the fibers and extending into a substantially planar surface over said region contiguous with the opposite side of the fabric, said plastic comprising highly plasticized polyvinyl chloride with substantially 400 parts plasticizer to substantially 600 parts plasticiz er -fbrea 'ch 100 parts of said polyvinyl chloride, the relief extension of said plastic member being very thick compared with the fabric.

3. An article as claimed in claim 2 and in which the plastic member is more resilient than the fabric.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Tl 1,813,587 7/1931 Sindler 161.9-7X 2,291,545 7/1942 Ganz et a1. 264 257 X 2,335,222 11/1943 Storch 264257X 2,816,853 12/1957 Meyers 1611-16X 2,823,156 2/1958 Hedges 161--94X 2,894,855 7/1959 Wilhelm et al. 117-103 3,007,205 11/ 196-1 House 264-257 X 3,230,134 1/1966 Studer 264257X 3,308,491 3/1967- Spence 1 5-338 X 3,548,420 12/ 1970 Spence 260-.46.5 G

FOREIGN PATENTS 247,282 2/ 1926 Great Britain.

ROBERT F. BURNETT, Primary Examiner R. A. DAWSON, Assistant Examiner M US. -c1.x.R. 161-97, 116 

